Modern computing systems generally utilize a file selection mechanism known as a “file picker,” which is a graphical user interface tool that allows a user to select a file to be accessed by an application. In general, an application developer is required to implement a file picker that is specifically customized for an application so that the application can obtain access to one or more files on the user's computing device based on the user's selections. However, conventional methods for implementing a file picker for an application suffer from a number of flaws that have yet to be addressed. Among other issues, conventional methods fail to provide any level of security with respect to how the applications access files stored on the user's computing device. For instance, conventional methods typically expose all of the files on the user's computing device to any given application that invokes the file picker for a file selection procedure. In this fashion, the failure of conventional methods to implement security measures can result in any application obtaining access to potentially sensitive data stored on the user's computing device when a file selection procedure is being performed.